Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 18: Despite paying a huge amount of fee, students pursuing B.Ed though distance mode at the University of Kashmir are facing tough time as the Varsity has not provided them copies of study material.
The students who are in the 2nd year of their B.Ed course alleged that they have been told to download the study material from the university website despite paying Rs 14, 000 as the course fee for the 3rd and 4th semesters.
A student wishing anonymity said that instead of providing study material to the students, the authorities consistently told them not to wait for the study material and read through online mode as it is not up to them to provide the study material.
“We have paid a huge amount of fee and they should provide us the hard copies of the reading material. Reading online content is very difficult. We cannot read from the screen for long time as it puts a lot of stress on eyes,” Asiya Farooq, one of the students said, adding: “Even the examination forms for the 3rd and 4th semesters have been announced but the fate of study material is yet to be decided.”
Another student, Sumaira Jan said that asking students to read online study material is an injustice and there are many students who cannot read from the laptops or mobile phones. “Many students are from far flung areas. They don’t have even electricity, not to speak of the internet facility. Why should we download the study material if we have paid for the printed material. Reading on our phones or laptops continuously is not feasible for us as it affects our eyes. We cannot mark important information on our mobile phones,” she said.
The students also said that the delay in their two year degree is taking a heavy toll on their careers as they are not able to study further or apply for any job. “Our B.Ed degree was started in 2015 and it is a two year course but we are still stuck with this degree. It is almost fourth year and our degree is still incomplete. The students who are Graduates in our batch and want to pursue Post Graduation now are not able to apply anywhere as they are enrolled in this course. In the recently held examination for the Teacher posts in Education Department, B.Ed degree carried five points and we missed that opportunity due to the delay in our degree. After the results were announced, there were some candidates among us who were short of these five points only,” Mohammad zubair, a student said.
An official in the Distance Education Department said that they have already appealed the university administration to provide study material to the students as they don’t want to study through online material and the administration has agreed but doesn’t have printers available. Once they have printers available they will be provided study material.
About delay in the degree, he cited the unrest of 2016 as the main reason behind it. The Coordinator Distance Education said: “I am not authorized to comment on the issue.”
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